Mad Catz’s M.O.J.O. micro-console gets price drop, Ouya game support

This week's announcement of Ouya Everywhere came with a clear mission statement: The Kickstarter-fueled Android console wants its games and software to work on as much hardware as possible. How that goal will be accomplished is far less clear, and there is currently only a vague promise of "one deal signed."

Today, Mad Catz has taken credit for the first handshake, announcing that its M.O.J.O. micro-console will host Ouya's complete games catalog "later this spring." In the meantime, the Tegra 4-powered system will receive an immediate price drop from $250 to $200 (though retailers like Amazon haven't updated their listings).

Cramming solid specs and a decent number of ports into a tiny package, the M.O.J.O. occupies a weird niche in small-device computing, though the price drop suggests that leading in that niche hasn't proven lucrative since the console's launch in December. Perhaps replacing touchscreen controls with mouse support wasn't attractive enough for fans looking to plug their favorite Android games into a larger TV. (Thankfully, Ouya's Bluetooth-powered controller, which comes with a wonky-but-functional touchpad, should pair with the M.O.J.O. for Ouya gaming.)

Otherwise, M.O.J.O. operates as a pure Android device already, allowing users to connect their Google Play accounts to the console to download any apps they've already paid for on that shop. As such, Ouya representatives confirmed to Ars that Ouya Everywhere will come to M.O.J.O. as a software install, which will then allow downloads of all "current and future Ouya content."

More interestingly, M.O.J.O.'s current specs already outpace the original Ouya, which sports a long-in-the-tooth Tegra 3 processor, though the Tegra 4 on the M.O.J.O. is assumed to be heading to the eventual "Twouya" console. When asked whether current or future Ouya games will ever tap into M.O.J.O.'s higher horsepower and RAM—and if there's more specific information on Ouya Everywhere's launch date—Ouya reps declined comment.

This announcement essentially leaves only two other major Android micro-consoles—the Nvidia Shield and the GameStick—out of the Ouya Everywhere fold, with no indication of whether they will follow suit. It also means Ouya supporters will have to wait for entirely new device announcements (set-top boxes, smart TVs, etc.) to see if Ouya actually lands "Everywhere."